In The News

Incentives from the federal government for farmers who grow crops like cotton are contributing to the depletion of the Colorado River. A Propublica report this spring investigated the issue. The article’s author was at the Aspen Ideas Festival Tuesday (6/30).

Freshwater in the United States is really on the move. Much of the water pulled from underground reservoirs called aquifers gets incorporated into crops and other foodstuffs, which are then are shuttled around the country or transferred as far away as Israel and Japan, according to a new study.

Despite recent flooding in Colorado and Texas, the multi-year California drought has brought water scarcity to the forefront of conversation throughout the West. There has been lots of debate in the media and in scientific circles about whether this drought is a preview of a “new normal” for western water.